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A comprehensive list of words you need to know and exactly what they mean.
- Amidships
The area roughly in the center of the canoe lengthwise.
Beam
The width of a canoe or kayak measured at the widest point.
Bent-Shaft Paddle
A canoe paddle with a bend in the shaft, usually at its throat. Increases efficiency (power), with varying compromise in control.
Blade
The wide, flat area of a paddle, used for propulsion.
Bow
Front of the canoe or kayak.
Bulkhead
Sealed compartment fore or aft in a decked canoe or kayak. Primarily required for flotation but also used as storage area.
Canoe
An open craft with pointed ends that is propelled with a single-bladed paddle. Also called an "open boat."
Chine
The edge of the kayak; transition area between hull and deck.
Class I-VI
International standard classification system for rating the difficulty of fast-moving water.
Coaming
See Cockpit.
Cockpit
The opening in the deck of a kayak or closed canoe where the paddler sits. The curved lip around its edge, used to secure a spray skirt, is the coaming.
Deck
Closed-in area over the bow and/or stern of a canoe or kayak. Sheds water and, on a canoe, adds strength to the gunwales.
Depth
Vertical measurement from the hull's lowest point to its highest, usually from the top of the gunwale amidships to the floor of the canoe.
Directional Stability
Used to describe tendency of a boat to hold its course.
Draw Stroke
Used to move the boat sideways. Performed by placing the paddle into the water parallel to the boat at an arm's reach away, then pulling boat over to it.
Feathered Paddle
A kayak paddle in which the blades are set at an angle to each other in order to present the edge rather than the surface to the wind.
Ferry
A maneuver used to cross a current with little or no downstream travel. Utilizes the current to move boat laterally.
Final Stability
Also called "secondary stability." Describes a boat's resistance to tipping once the boat has been leaned to a point beyond its "initial stability."
Flare
Term used to describe a hull cross section that grows wider as it rises from the waterline toward the gunwales.
Freeboard
The vertical distance measured from a boat's waterline to the lowest part of its gunwale.
Grab Loop
Short rope or grab-handle threaded through bow/stern stems of a kayak or canoe.
Gradient
Refers to the steepness of a riverbed over a specified distance, usually per mile. See Class IÐVI.
Grip
The end of a canoe paddle opposite from the blade.
Gunwales
Structural supports that run end to end along the top of the hull. Inside strips are "inwales"; outside, "outwales."
Hatch
Access port on front and/or rear deck of a touring or sea kayak.
Hull
The body of a canoe or kayak; the area that has the greatest impact on how the boat and water interact.
Hull Configuration
Shape of the hull, or that part affected by water, wind, and waves.
Initial Stability
Term used to describe a boat's resistance to leaning ("tippiness").
Keel
A strip or extrusion along the bottom of a boat to prevent (theoretically) side-slipping. Adds rigidity or hull support.
Keel Line
The longitudinal shape of the canoe's bottom looking from the side.
Lay-Up
Manner in which layers of fiberglass or Kevlar matting are placed to make a fiberglass or Kevlar canoe or kayak.
Life Jacket
Personal buoyancy vest required by law for every passenger of all water craft. See PFD.
Off-Side
Side of boat opposite the paddle.
On-Side
Side that you're paddling on.
Paddle
Primary tool for propelling canoes/kayaks. See Blade, Shaft, Throat.
PFD
Personal Flotation Device. See Life Jacket.
Portaging
Traditional term for carrying boats and gear, usually around a rapid or between lakes.
Pry Stroke
Turning stroke in which the paddle blade is turned sideways alongside the gunwale, then "pried" outward.
Put-In
The starting point of a paddling trip; where the boats are launched into the water.
Ribs
Pieces of material spaced on the inside of a canoe hull to form its frame.
River-Left
On the left side of the river facing downstream.
River-Right
On the right side of the river facing downstream.
Rocker
Upward curvature of the keel line from the center toward the ends of a boat. Lots of rocker means quick, easy turns.
Roll
A self-rescue technique used to right an overturned kayak or canoe in the water without leaving the boat.
Rudder
Typically a foot-controlled steering device on touring or sea kayaks.
Scouting
Walking ahead on shore to inspect a rapid or other stretch of river.
Secondary Stability
A hull's tendency to stabilize as it's leaned to one side. See Hull Configuration, Initial Stability.
Shaft
The area of a paddle between the upper grip and the blade.
Skeg
Fixed rudder.
Stern
The back end of a boat.
Sweep Stroke ( forward or reverse )
Used to turn the boat quickly by reaching out and ahead, then "sweeping" in a wide arc fore to aft.
Take-Out
The ending point of a paddling trip; where the boats are finally taken from the water. See Put-In.
Tandem
Two-person canoe or kayak.
Throat
Junction of paddle shaft and blade.
Thwart
A cross-brace between the sides of a canoe. The center thwart should be the balance point of the canoe.
Tracking
The ability of a boat to hold a straight course due to its hull design.
Trim
A trim boat is level, side-to-side and end-to-end. Achieved by shifting the load or position of the paddlers. The stern should be slightly deeper than the bow, to maintain tracking direction.
Tumblehome
Term used to describe a hull cross section that curves inward from the waterline toward the gunwales. The upper portion of the hull that slopes back inward.
Volume
Used to describe overall capacity of a given hull shape.
Waterline
A line reached by the water along the hull of a boat; the shape of the waterline and the handling characteristics of the boat change as the load changes. Solo or tandem.
Yoke
A padded, modified thwart used as a shoulder rest to carry the canoe overhead.
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